


Vérité

by spots_off



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Identity Reveal, Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-08 03:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15234756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spots_off/pseuds/spots_off
Summary: When Marinette once again fails to confess her feelings to Adrien, she is akumatized into Vérité, a villain who forces her victims to reveal their biggest secrets.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not super familiar with this fandom but uh I hope someone enjoys this! Could be set at any point after the episode where (S2 spoilers incoming) Chat tells Marinette he's in love with Ladybug and Ladybug tells Chat she has feelings for someone else. 
> 
> Oh and vérité means truth in French :)

MARINETTE  
 

She had everything planned out. She'd rehearsed the speech at least twenty times in her head. She'd even written it down in her best handwriting and stuffed the sheet in her purse next to Tikki, as a backup option. If her words failed her - like usual - she would just give him the letter. But she was determined that her words and her courage wouldn't fail her this time.

'This is it,' she told Tikki, grabbing her bag and taking a deep breath. 'I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell him.' She nodded to herself and pushed open the doors to the school.

Her heart wouldn't stop pattering about in her chest the entire day. When Adrien said hello to her in class, she squeaked and wanted to hide under the desk. She could hardly eat anything at lunchtime. Alya kept giving her knowing smirks.

'Go get him,' she said at the end of the day, and Marinette knew her time was up.

She waited until Adrien's fencing class was over, standing just outside the locker room with the letter clutched in her hands. Maybe she should just go. She could slip the letter under the door and run home. She wouldn't even have to sign it, and he'd know how she felt without ever knowing it was her. Though he might recognise her handwriting, and then he'd know that she hadn't even been brave enough to say it to his face or to sign her name, and he'd think she was a coward, and -

'Marinette!' Tikki hissed. 'Calm down! It's going to be okay.'

'You don't know that! What if he laughs in my face?'

'You know he wouldn't do that.'

'I know,' Marinette said, slumping against the wall. 'I'm just nervous.'

The door opened and Tikki ducked back into her purse. Marinette nearly dropped the letter, already blushing and stammering when she hadn't even said anything yet, but the boy who walked out of the locker room wasn't even Adrien, just someone from the year above. She groaned and stood back next to the wall, trying to calm her racing heart.

The door opened again, and this time it was Adrien.

'Hey Marinette,' he said, stopping when he saw her leaning there. 'Are you waiting for someone?'

'I - no - yes,' she stammered, straightening up quickly. 'I mean, not anymore. I mean, I was waiting for you.'

'Oh,' he said, looking surprised, but not - she hoped - unhappy.

She smiled up at him for a good ten seconds before she realised he was waiting for her to say something. Like explaining why she was waiting outside the locker room for him even though school had ended half an hour ago.

'Right, well, it's just, I wanted to talk to you,' she said. She was crushing the paper in her hands. It would be useless now, and she couldn't remember anything she'd written, and besides, it all sounded so stupid now -

'About…?' Adrien prompted.

'It's just that I have - actually, it's been a long time, since the first day…' Her voice was getting smaller and smaller. She'd wanted to tell him about the day they met, how he gave her his umbrella and walked off in the rain and she hadn't been able to form a coherent sentence around him since. And about what it meant to her that he was still carrying around the lucky charm she'd made him, with some beads and a piece of string, and how she'd thought that maybe, just maybe…

Out loud, Marinette. You're supposed to be saying all of this out loud. How come it all sounded okay in her head, but as soon as she tried to open her mouth her courage always failed her? Maybe it had something to do with his green eyes, never leaving her face. He was probably wondering what she wanted from him and why she wouldn't just hurry up and say it. He probably thought she was ridiculous.

'I just like you,' Marinette finally whispered, so quietly even she barely heard it.

'Sorry?' Adrien tilted his head closer to her.

She took a deep breath. 'I think I'm -'

'Aaaaaadrikins!'

'- in love with you.' But he'd already turned his head, looking at Chloe as she ran up and threw her arms around his neck.

'Hey, Chloe.'

'Hey! What are you still doing here? Listen, I have to show you something…' She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. Marinette was staring at the ground, but she imagined that Adrien wouldn’t even look back at her once.

 

 

HAWK MOTH

 

Ah, poor girl, rejected by the one she loves, always in the shadow of someone louder, more confident. So many unspoken words. So many buried emotions. How impossible, to confess the deepest secrets of your heart to the one who means the most.

And how perfect for an evil akuma.

'Fly away, my little akuma, and evilise her!'

 

 

MARINETTE

 

She walked out to the front of the school and sat on one of the steps, chin resting on her knees. The letter was still crumpled in her hand. She wanted to throw it away from her, but she couldn't risk someone seeing it, so she kept it in her fist, squeezing as tight as she could, as if the creases could wipe out the words she’d written. She'd failed again. Maybe it just wasn't meant to happen; girls like her never ended up with boys like Adrien. Maybe she'd have a chance if she could at least talk to him…

She turned her head when she heard footsteps behind her. _Adrien_. He'd come to find her, after all. Or he was just going out to his car and he'd see her here and wonder what was going on, and she couldn't tell him now, not after she'd used up all her courage just to say it once and he hadn't even listened.

She didn't notice the purple speck in the distance, coming towards her.

 

 

ADRIEN

 

Marinette had been about to finish her sentence when Chloe started to drag him away. He looked over his shoulder and saw her walking away with her head bowed, arms wrapped around herself. She'd been about to say something, and it had seemed important, but then she just left, and he couldn't help but think it was his fault. He always seemed to be confusing or upsetting her and he could never figure out why.

He found her on the steps in front of the school. He'd been right; something was wrong.

'Are you okay?' Adrien asked, standing on the step behind her with one hand rubbing the back of his neck. 'You seem upset…'

She stood up, turning to face him. She had one hand resting on her purse and the other clutching something.

'I'm fine,' she said. 'It doesn't matter.'

'It matters,' Adrien said. 'You wanted to say something.'

 

 

MARINETTE

 

Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe he did care. Maybe she _should_ tell him. If he didn't feel the same way, she knew he'd be gracious about it.

 

 

HAWK MOTH

 

The akuma stalled above the girl's head. The negative emotions were fading, replaced by hope. Where had this come from?

'Get closer.'

But there was nothing there. The girl had been overcome by a steely resolve. The boy, however; he was a mess of confusion, guilt, and hurt, because he thought that she was hurting, and he was helpless to make it better when he didn't understand why.

The akuma changed course and flew towards the boy's heart.

_Adrien_.

'NO!'

 

 

ADRIEN

 

She saw it moments before he did and was already pointing and yelling before he understood what was happening; there was an akuma hovering in front of him, looking for somewhere to land. There was a spike of fear in his chest, even though he tried to quell it, knowing the akuma could target fear. He could transform, but then he’d give away his identity, and Hawk Moth was watching. Ladybug would never forgive him. Besides, he trusted her; she would save him and capture the akuma.

He was ready. Maybe he could help, even; he could learn how to fight off the akuma's hold, or maybe he _wouldn't_ but then Ladybug would come to fight him and his love for her would be enough to break him out of the spell, because it was so strong that he could never fight her, and then she would understand how he really felt.

'Marinette, run,' he started to say, but then -

'No!' She was screaming. And then she was running towards him, one hand coming forward as if she was going to snatch the butterfly out of the air.

'I'll do whatever you want,' she said. 'Just leave Adrien alone!'

The akuma crashed into the piece of paper still clutched in her hand and disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

**MARINETTE**

This was a bad idea. A terrible idea, actually. She might have stopped Adrien from being akumatized, but who was going to fight her and capture the akuma when Ladybug didn’t show up? Chat had many talents, but he couldn’t capture akumas.

‘Hello, Vérité. I am Hawk Moth. From now on, there will be no more secrets and no more holding back. You will have the power to make anyone confess the deepest, darkest secrets of their hearts, and you can finally reveal the truth to your beloved and find out if your feelings are returned. But in return, you must uncover the secrets of Ladybug and Cat Noir and help me take their miraculouses.’

She closed her eyes and waited for the transformation. She knew she couldn’t fight it; already she felt herself losing consciousness, fading away, but she was still Marinette. What was taking so long?

She opened one eye and saw Adrien running away from her. Why hadn’t Hawk Moth stopped him?

As soon as Adrien was out of sight, Marinette was gone, and Vérité stood in her place.

**CHAT NOIR**

‘Plagg, claws out!’

As soon as he’d ducked around the corner of the school building, Adrien stopped running and transformed. He wanted to run back out to Marinette and survey the situation, but first he pulled out his baton and called for Ladybug.

He waited.

Though his ears were still trained on the front of the school, where Marinette – or whoever she was now – should have been, he could hear nothing unusual coming from that direction. Where were the screams, the great steps of an angry akumatized villain? Maybe she’d been turned into something stealthier.

There was no answer from Ladybug. He decided he couldn’t wait any longer and left her a quick message, then stowed his baton back in his belt.

He peered around the corner of the building and the first thing he saw was a girl sitting on the steps, crying. Marinette was nowhere to be found.

He ran out to the girl.

‘Are you okay? What happened?’

Wordlessly, she pointed to the door of the school.

Chat patted her on the back quickly and ran inside. He spared a guilty glance back at the girl, knowing Ladybug would have stayed to comfort her, but there was an akuma to be dealt with and besides, Ladybug wasn’t here. _He_ was.

And Marinette needed him.

He followed the sounds of shouts through the corridors. He realised he was getting closer and closer to the locker room, where Marinette had tried to talk to him earlier. Could that be important?

He found her at the end of the corridor, facing away from him. She looked almost the same as always, but her hair was pitch black – he figured this was meant to signal that she was evil now – and she wore what looked like skin-tight black gloves up to her elbows. One gloved hand was at her side, fist curled around something, while the other hand pointed at the student she had cornered.

A burst of purple light shot from her hand and encased the student. Wide-eyed, he lifted his hands to cover his mouth, spluttering.

Cat Noir leaped forward, ready to intervene, when –

‘I sold my mum’s bracelet so I could buy tickets to Jagged Stone for me and my girlfriend!’ the kid blurted out. As soon as he finished speaking, the purple glow disappeared and the boy sagged against the wall. ‘Please don’t tell her I took it. She’ll ground me and then I won’t be able to go – please.’

Marinette scoffed and turned away. ‘You think I care about your mum’s bracelet? Where’s Adrien?’

Her eyes narrowed when she saw Cat Noir, who managed to scoot forward to lean against a row of lockers, all his weight on one foot and one hand casually planted on his hip.

‘Hey, Princess,’ he said, giving her his most charming grin.

‘I’m not your princess,’ she spat, pointing a finger at him. ‘I’m Vérité, and I will have you confess your deepest secrets!’

He leapt out of the way just in time to avoid a blast of purple light.

‘Why, Princess, if you wanted to get to know me better –’

He had to stop talking mid-sentence to cartwheel out of the way of another blast.

‘Where is Adrien?’ Vérité demanded.

He shrugged as nonchalantly as possible. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the kid get up and run down the corridor now that he’d lured Vérité out of his path. This time, her spell almost hit him square on the nose, but he managed to duck just in time.

‘I see how it is,’ he muttered, as she sent another blast his way. He guessed that the spell would force him to confess his biggest secret, his civilian identity. One hit, and it would be game over. ‘Ladybug, where are you?’

There wasn’t much he could do without his partner. He could stall Vérité to try to stop her from hurting anyone before the akuma could be captured, but it seemed she had no intention to harm people except by extracting their darkest secrets from their hearts, and in any case she would never find her real target. What did she want from him, anyway? What secrets could she possibly think he was hiding?

‘What do you want from Adrien anyway?’ he asked, bouncing off one side of the corridor and then the other, avoiding the blasts of purple light that kept coming his way.

‘I want to tell him the truth,’ she hissed, never letting up her attack.

‘Oh,’ Cat said, pausing for a second. A beam of light shot past his nose. ‘So you don’t want to find out his deepest, darkest, juiciest secrets?’

‘No,’ Vérité said, and for a second she looked like Marinette again when she said, ‘I want him to know mine.’

‘Why don’t you just tell me instead?’ Chat asked. It would save them a lot of trouble.

‘Because you’re not him,’ she said simply.

He rolled his eyes. ‘Too bad,’ he said, racing down the corridor and towards the back entrance. It was getting a bit too small in here and those beams of light had a tendency to bounce off the walls and surprise him. ‘I’m a great listener.’

She cackled, and now she sounded very _un_ -Marinette-like. ‘I’ll be the one doing the listening today, when you confess your secret identity!’ she said, still advancing on him. He leapt outside, but she was too quick for him and was out the door before he could slam it in her face.

Since when was Marinette this athletic?

 

**HAWK MOTH**

‘Where is Ladybug? Is she afraid of a little truth or dare?’

He paced around his lair, frowning. His little akumatized villain had not managed to discover Cat Noir’s secret yet, but he was sure it was only a matter of time. The important thing was that Cat Noir wouldn’t release her akuma until Ladybug showed up to capture it; and besides, he wasn’t strong enough to do it without her, which meant they had time.

But where was she? Why wasn’t she here, when he had finally created a villain who could force her to reveal the truth?

 

**CAT NOIR**

Vérité was good. Way too good for his liking. Akumatized villains usually gave him a bit of a workout, but that was nothing compared to this.

He finally caught a break when a crowd of students came out of the doors, probably here for a late class. Or detention. Vérité turned her attention on them when they crossed her path, carelessly slinging bursts of purple light into the crowd.

‘I failed my maths test!’ somebody choked out.

‘I still sleep with a teddy bear!’ Was that Chloé?

‘My parents are getting divorced and they’re forcing me to move to Italy so I won’t be around anymore and that’s why I’ve been acting so weird lately!’

‘Really?’

‘I’m so sorry! I’ll miss you so much!’

Chat Noir frowned. There was an unfortunate lack of juicy secrets in this school.

He pulled his baton out and left another message for Ladybug. ‘Where are you? This villain can force people to tell their biggest secrets and if you don’t get here soon I’m going to –’

There was a blast of purple light. Cat Noir looked up and saw Vérité standing over him with her hands on her hips, triumphant. He looked down and saw his body traced by purple light.

 

**HAWK MOTH**

‘Yes, now tell me your secret!’

 

**CAT NOIR**

‘I – I –’ He clapped both hands over his mouth. ‘Mrrrmrppphhhhgbbbddd!’ _Ha_ , he thought. Not much she could do about it if she couldn’t hear what he was saying. But then, against his will, his hands were forcing themselves away from his mouth. Vérité just stood there, watching.

‘I’m in love with Ladybug!’ Cat Noir blurted out.

 

**HAWK MOTH**

‘Again, Vérité! The truth will set you free!’

 

**CAT NOIR**

The light disappeared, and when Vérité pointed at him again, he twirled his baton in front of him and deflected her attack.

‘Everyone knows you’re in love with Ladybug,’ Vérité spat. ‘But what’s your real secret, kitty cat?’

‘You know what they say, Princess,’ Chat said, deflecting another burst of light. ‘Curiosity killed the cat, and I don’t plan on dying today.’

Though he might, if Ladybug didn’t show up anytime soon. What could be taking her so long?

‘The truth hurts, kitty, but I think you’re getting tired,’ Vérité taunted.

She was right. She was relentless, and he was having to do all the work without Ladybug here. And he was constantly on the defensive, because one hit from her and it would all be over for him. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stall her.

‘Princess, you’re not supposed to be this fast,’ he grumbled. Where was clumsy Marinette who could trip over nothing but her own two feet?

‘And you’re not supposed to be alone, are you?’

‘You don’t have to do this, you know,’ Chat said, backing away. He didn’t dare look away from her even for a second to glance behind him, though he guessed that he was about to hit a wall. Or a road. Or some kind of trap. ‘I can help you find Adrien, you can say whatever you want to say, and we can all move on with our lives in peace.’

‘I don’t think so,’ she said, her hand slashing at the air. He leapt out of the way just in time.

‘This isn’t you,’ he said. ‘You’re rational. You’re smart. You can just tell him.’

He noticed her fist tighten. It must be the page she was holding onto earlier, he thought. That was where the akuma had to be.

She almost hit him again. He desperately cast his mind for some other secret he could confess to her, like the one about Ladybug. That wasn’t even a real secret; everyone probably knew, and besides, he’d already told Marinette. And, he suddenly remembered, she had told him she was in a similar situation…

‘Ladybug, where are you?’ he muttered.

He thought he knew what Marinette’s secret was. Maybe. He could be wrong. But it made sense. And it meant that if he was caught now, if Hawk Moth found out who he was, she would be in danger.

Cat Noir deflected another beam of light and then felt his back hit something. He reached his other hand back and confirmed his fears; she’d cornered him against a wall, and he knew from memory that there was nothing to grab hold of except the second-floor window, and even he couldn’t reach that without using his baton, which he needed to shield himself.

She’d outsmarted him. Of course.

Now would be a really, really good time for Ladybug to jump in and save the day.

Vérité pointed her gloved finger at his face, and he felt it again; the brilliant flash of purple light. He let his arms fall, knowing she would stop fighting him now that she’d won. He had to focus all his energy on not confessing his secret.

He stuffed a fist in his mouth.

‘Arrgggghhhhfhfhfffbbmmnnnn,’ he said.

He could feel the magic take hold of his hand. Vérité stood in front of him with both hands on her hips, grinning. He wanted to tell Marinette that evil didn’t suit her. At all.

If she was really in love with him – if that was what she wanted to tell him – then he was about to repay her in the worst possible way. She was still in Hawk Moth’s clutches, and soon Hawk Moth would know that he was Cat Noir, and then he would use her to get to him, and through him, to Ladybug. She hadn’t been safe from the moment she became friends with Adrien, let alone anything else, and now he’d failed her.

His hand left his mouth. He tried to clamp his teeth shut, but he knew it was no use.

‘I – I – I’m – CATACLYSM!’ he managed to yell out, the blackness gathering in his right hand. His mouth opened again, against his will, and he felt his throat constricting, like the words were falling over themselves to get out.

This was it. He could either confess and let Marinette face the consequences, or –

He clamped his right hand over his mouth, and the words died in his throat.

 

**HAWK MOTH**

He was smiling, one arm already half-raised in triumph, when he felt Vérité’s emotions change.

What had he done? Cataclysm had never been used on a human, at least not as far as he knew. Would Cat Noir really go so far as to sacrifice himself to protect his secret?

 

**MARINETTE**

_No._

She almost screamed it, but she couldn’t. Her mind wasn’t entirely in control of her body, she didn’t think, but… _no._

Oh, Chat, my Chat, what did you do?

 

**CAT NOIR**

For a second, he thought he’d really screwed up. That he was going to die, because he’d made a spur-of-the-moment decision to use his cataclysm on himself, and he was just going to fall away to dust and disappear.

Then he felt his throat loosen up and the purple haze surrounding him fell away. He breathed a sigh of relief, even as his ring started flashing. Now as long as he could get away before she caught him again…

He frowned. Vérité had stopped attacking and was standing frozen, her eyes blown wide. He didn’t know why she would look so scared when she clearly still had the upper hand, but he didn’t let himself think about it, instead leaping forward and grabbing at her hand. She reacted just moments too late, drawing back and tightening her fist after he’d already snatched the page she had been gripping. It was curled into a tight ball and coloured dark purple, just as he’d guessed.

They stood staring at each other, stuck in a moment of indecision. Ladybug wasn’t here to capture the akuma, but if he left it in here, Vérité would catch him with her truth spell again. Besides, Marinette was still stuck in Hawk Moth’s clutches.

But if he released the akuma and Marinette gave in to her negative emotions again, it would be a thousand times worse.

But it was _Marinette_ – she would be fine. If anyone could resist an akuma, it was her.

She blinked at him once. He thought of the letter in his hand, and what it said, and what would happen if Hawk Moth knew.

He ripped the letter in half and let the akuma flutter away, becoming smaller and smaller as he watched until it disappeared completely.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAT NOIR

 

Vérité fell to her knees in front of him, and within seconds she was gone. Marinette knelt in her place, head in her hands. She looked up and saw him, confusion written all over her face, though her eyes widened when she noticed the two halves of her letter in his hands.

‘Chat? What happened?’

‘Ah – you were akumatized,’ he said, reaching a hand out to her. ‘But don’t worry, Princess, you didn’t hurt anybody, and you’re going to be okay now –’

She blanched, scrambling to her feet, ignoring his outstretched hand. ‘But what about the akuma?’

‘Oh, uh, you see, Ladybug didn’t show up, so I had to let it go.’

‘You let it go?!’

He smiled sheepishly. ‘I didn’t really have any other choice.’

Marinette narrowed her eyes and surveyed their surroundings. ‘You could have captured it in something – a jar or a bag or –’ She fell silent.

Adrien frowned. He supposed she was right; he could have gotten a schoolbag or something from one of the passing students. Then when Ladybug eventually did turn up, they wouldn’t have to go looking for it.

‘Yeah, I… didn’t think of that,’ he said.

Marinette smacked a palm to her forehead. ‘What are we going to do? Uh, I mean, what are _you_ going to do?’

‘Well, when an akuma is released without being de-evilized, there’s a risk that it’ll come back and akumatize its host again if they’re overcome by strong enough negative emotion, so basically I have to stick around and protect you,’ Chat said, puffing out his chest.

‘Do you know where the akuma went?’ she asked.

He pointed after it. ‘That way, but it could be anywhere by now.’

‘Maybe you should go look for Ladybug.’

He shook his head. ‘I have to keep you safe.’

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining Marinette restraining an eye roll. ‘I really think you should find Ladybug. Not that I’m trying to tell you how to do your job! But, um. Only she can capture the akuma, right?’

‘She’ll be here soon,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry. We can trust her. Do you need to go back in to get your stuff? I’ll walk you home.’

Marinette frowned, biting her lip, then her eyes lit up. ‘Oh! Cat Noir, your ring!’

Adrien looked down and saw his last pad flashing. ‘Oh no,’ he said, glaring down at it. ‘I’m about to transform. I’m so sorry, Princess, I have to leave, but I’ll be back in a second, I promise.’

He took a second to look her over, checking that she was really alright. He didn’t want to leave her; he _shouldn’t_. What if the akuma got to her again? She was probably scared that it would come back, scared that Hawk Moth would hurt her, scared that _she_ would hurt other people, if he knew her as well as he thought he did. But he didn’t have a choice.

As soon as he rounded the corner, there was a flash of green light, and his costume disappeared.

‘Oh my,’ said Plagg. ‘This is _not_ good.’

 

LADYBUG

 

‘Urgh,’ Marinette groaned. ‘I thought he would never leave!’

Tikki flew out of her purse. ‘He cares about you! He’s just trying to protect you!’

‘I know, I know,’ Marinette said. ‘It’s sweet of him. Totally unnecessary, but it’s not like he knows…’

For a second, as Marinette looked at her kwami, she wondered what had happened to Tikki while she was akumatized, but there was no time to think about that now.

‘Tikki, spots on!’

As soon as she had transformed, she used her yoyo to swing onto the roof of the school. She wasn’t surprised when there was no akuma to be seen. They would have to get up higher, once Chat fed his kwami and came back. They would go to the Eiffel Tower, she decided.

‘Ladybug!’

She turned and saw him running across the roof towards her.

‘You’re finally here! Listen, we have to find Marinette, I don’t know where she’s gone –’

‘Chat,’ she said. It was a wonder he hadn’t guessed at her identity, honestly. She supposed it was easy to be blind to something if it was the furthest thing from what you were expecting to see. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t here, but we have to capture that akuma.’

‘I know. I let it go; I didn’t know what else to do. But Marinette was standing right there when I left her and now she’s disappeared, we have to protect her in case the akuma comes back!’

‘She’ll be fine if we find it and capture it before she gets upset again. Come on, Chat!’

She made to leave, but Chat Noir grabbed her arm.

‘We can’t just leave her.’

‘Even if she gets akumatized again, at least that way we can find her _and_ the akuma,’ Ladybug insisted.

Chat looked scandalised. ‘You think we should just let that happen?’

She had to stop herself from groaning. Everything would be so much easier if she could just tell Chat that _she_ was Marinette. ‘Listen, we’re wasting time arguing about this, we have to find that akuma before it multiplies.’

He shook his head. ‘I won’t just leave Marinette to fend for herself.’

‘Marinette will be _fine_. I promise.’

‘She won’t be fine if we don’t look after her.’ He crossed his arms. ‘You’re not usually like this, Ladybug. She could get hurt.’

Shaking her head, Ladybug pulled out her yoyo and checked the news. She was dismayed but not surprised to see Nadja Chamack informing Paris that akumas were spreading all over the city, turning civilians into statues of Vérité.

She pursed her lips, thinking, while Chat continued to panic about the disappearance of Marinette. If she was disguised as Ladybug, the akuma could never find her, and its army would never come to life. That would buy them all the time they needed. But if there was no Marinette for the original akuma to evilize again, how would _she_ ever find the akuma?

 

HAWK MOTH

 

‘Good, good,’ he said, laughing to himself. ‘Soon all of Paris will be under the akuma’s control, and then there will be no escaping the truth, and I shall finally know Ladybug and Cat Noir’s secret identities!’

 

LADYBUG

 

The answer was obvious.

The only way to find the akuma was to use herself as bait.

But then how could she capture it and be Marinette at the same time?

‘Aaargh, this is impossible,’ she groaned.

Chat stopped mid-tirade. ‘You’re being impossible,’ he grumbled.

‘So are you!’ She bit her lip. ‘Okay, listen. You’re not going to like this, but I need your help.’ She would have to tell him. She couldn’t figure this out herself.

‘I think I should go find her,’ Chat said. ‘If she’s watching the news, she’s probably scared, and that might be enough to –’

‘Chat, listen to me,’ she said. ‘There’s only one way we’re ever going to find that akuma now that there are so many of them. We have to use Marinette as bait.’

His jaw dropped. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Yes. We can’t just leave Paris in this state forever, you know,’ she said, sweeping her arm out around them. He followed her gaze and they both saw three students frozen in place below them, looking like perfect copies of Vérité.

‘Well, then we have to think of something else, because we’re not using Marinette as bait for Hawk Moth. Especially not when –’ He stopped talking abruptly.

‘When what?’

‘Never mind.’

She sighed. ‘Do you have any better ideas?’

Below them, they heard a shriek, and could only assume that someone was trying and failing to outrun an akuma. Chat Noir was uncharacteristically silent.

Ladybug watched him, thinking. He was right; there had to be another way. She couldn’t be Marinette and Ladybug at the same time.

Or could she?

‘Okay, fine,’ she said. ‘You go find Marinette, and I’ll go look for the akuma. We’ve wasted too much time arguing.’

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘I guess I better find her before you do, huh?’

She bit her lip and said nothing as he stormed off, extending his baton and disappearing over the edge of the building.

‘Good luck with that,’ she murmured, then turned and headed in the opposite direction.


	4. Chapter 4

LADYBUG

She stood outside the door, hand poised to knock, thinking. Maybe she should de-transform first. Maybe it would be less of a shock that way, easier to explain. Easier for Alya to forgive her.

Before she could make up her mind, the door opened a crack.

‘Ladybug!’ Alya exclaimed, pulling the door open wider and grabbing her arm, shutting it quickly behind them. She held out a hand. ‘You need me to be Rena Rouge, right?’

Ladybug took a deep breath. ‘No, actually,’ she said. ‘I need you to be Ladybug.’

‘Sorry, what?’ said Alya, pulling back her hand. ‘I don’t understand.’

Ladybug shook her head. ‘Do you know what happened today?’

‘Yeah, I think so,’ Alya said, hanging her head. ‘My friend Marinette was akumatized, after school. I should have been there but I wanted her to talk to this boy she’s in love with, and then by the time I saw the news I was already home, and I didn’t want to leave in case you needed me…’

‘I do need you,’ said Ladybug. ‘Did you know that I wasn’t there today either?’

‘Yeah, I heard that,’ Alya said, frowning. ‘What happened?’

‘Here’s the thing,’ Marinette said. Alya would get it, surely. ‘The only way to find the akuma now is to attract it using Marinette’s negative emotions. But if we do that, I won’t be able to capture it, which is why I need you to be Ladybug, because…’

She closed her eyes.

‘Spots off.’

She held her breath as her costume disappeared. Alya was silent.

Marinette squeezed one eye open. Alya was gaping at her, eyes huge. She didn’t blink for what must have been a solid minute.

‘You’re… _you’re_ Ladybug?’ she finally spluttered. ‘Marinette?’

‘It’s me,’ Marinette said in a tiny voice.

‘But…’ For once, Alya seemed lost for words.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,’ Marinette said, finally finding her own voice. ‘You know I couldn’t, to keep you safe.’

‘But I – but…’ Alya’s hand went up to her neck, where Rena Rouge’s miraculous would sit. Marinette didn’t have to ask to know what she was thinking.

‘I chose you because I knew I could trust you,’ she said, ‘but it wasn’t fair that I knew your secret and you didn’t know mine.’

‘I lied to you,’ Alya blurted. ‘About being Rena. I hated lying to you, but you knew the whole time…’

‘I know.’ Marinette hung her head. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘I felt so guilty. You don’t know how hard it was.’

‘I do know. Trust me, Alya. It’s been hard for me too.’

‘She wasn’t allowed to tell you,’ said a soft voice. Both girls turned their heads to see Tikki floating over Marinette’s shoulder. ‘It was to protect you. To protect everyone.’

Alya’s jaw had dropped open again. ‘Are you her kwami?’

‘Yes, I’m Tikki! It’s so nice to finally meet you in person, Alya.’

‘You too,’ said Alya, still stupefied. She turned back to Marinette. ‘You’re Ladybug.’

‘I know it’s hard to believe.’

‘I just – wow. All those times you were late class – and what about the time I interviewed you for my Ladyblog?’

Marinette winced. ‘I just wanted to make you happy.’

Alya pressed a hand to her forehead. ‘Sorry. This is going to take me some time to get used to. But are you in danger?’

And that was precisely why Alya made the perfect superhero, not to mention best friend; even when betrayed, confused, and possibly in shock, she was still thinking of Marinette’s safety above everything else.

Marinette reached up and removed her earrings. Alya’s eyes widened.

‘You want me to be Ladybug so I can capture the akuma when it comes for you,’ she said.

‘Yes,’ Marinette said. ‘You know, last time this happened, when Ivan was turned into Stoneheart and the akuma multiplied, I tried to give you the earrings. I always thought you would make a better Ladybug than me.’

When Marinette held out her hand, Alya reached for the earrings without hesitation.

‘I might be kind of mad at you right now, but there’s definitely no better Ladybug than you,’ she said.

 

HAWK MOTH

The negative emotions were fading in and out of focus. He’d finally managed to trace her emotions when he felt a surge of guilt that would have been perfect fodder for his evil akuma’s return, but it had faded.

Surely this girl would not be so difficult to upset. And this time, Ladybug would show up to meet her doom.

 

MARINETTE

As soon as Alya wore the earrings, Tikki appeared, hovering over her shoulder.

‘Are you sure?’ Alya asked Marinette.

‘Of course.’

She hesitated. ‘Couldn’t I just – couldn’t Rena Rouge create a mirage of you so you can still be Ladybug?’

Marinette shook her head. ‘Hawk Moth’s akumas sense emotions. He’ll know that the image is fake, and if we leave it too late, he might realise that Ladybug and I are never around at the same time. Plus, if he sees us both, it will throw him off.’

‘Okay,’ said Alya. She took a deep breath. ‘Here we go. Tikki, spots on!’

 

CAT NOIR

Everything was going terribly.

Every corner he turned, there was another Vérité statue, their wide eyes just like Marinette’s but pitch black, and they seemed to follow him everywhere he went. He kept waiting for one of them to come to life and attack him, but their stillness was about a hundred times creepier. When they were frozen, he couldn’t even fight them.

And they all looked just like her.

To make matters worse, he’d freaked out her parents, coming to her house to look for her and accidentally letting on that he didn’t know where she was and that the akuma was going to come back for her. At least he’d managed not to tell them what Ladybug was planning.

_Ladybug_. He knew she hadn’t found Marinette yet, or that if she had, Marinette still hadn’t succumbed to her negative emotions, because all her replicas on the streets stayed unmoving. As he ran away from her house, not even having decided where he was headed, he saw another akuma fly down, stopping a woman with a stroller in her tracks.

Where could she be?

 

MARINETTE

Alya swung the yoyo around and around her head, getting the hang of its movement.

‘What do you want me to do?’ she asked. She kept lifting up her hand and staring at her own costume.

‘I don’t know,’ Marinette said. ‘Maybe… say something about Adrien. That he’ll never like me back. Or that I got myself akumatized and put all of Paris in danger, including him and you, because I couldn’t keep my feelings in check.’

Alya stopped swinging the yoyo and tilted her head. It was such an Alya gesture, and it looked so strange to Marinette when her best friend looked like _her_.

‘It happens to all of us,’ Alya said. ‘Literally. Lady WiFi, remember?’

‘I know,’ Marinette said. She bit her lip. What would it take to draw the akuma out of hiding?

‘Okay, here’s the thing,’ said Alya. ‘I don’t understand why you couldn’t tell me you were Ladybug after I became Rena Rouge. Didn’t I prove that you could trust me when I gave you back the miraculous? When I kept giving you back the miraculous every single time?’

‘Yes,’ Marinette said. ‘It’s not that I didn’t trust you. It’s just that if you knew, you would be in danger.’

‘But I was Rena Rouge! I was already in danger.’

Marinette felt a pang of guilt.

‘I still never would have told you, just in case. I wanted you to be as safe as possible. I know you never would have told anyone, but then you would have had to stop running the Ladyblog, or you would have second-guessed everything you posted on it, and people might have realised that you knew something.’

‘I would never have done anything to put you in danger,’ Alya said.

‘I know,’ Marinette said. ‘But you’re so popular. Your blog is so popular. Someone would have noticed for sure.’

‘So you _don’t_ trust me.’

‘Of course I do!’

Alya shrugged. ‘I understand why you did it,’ she said. ‘I completely understand your reasoning for not telling me, but still, if it was me, I would have told you. I wouldn’t have lasted a day without telling my best friend.’

Marinette hung her head. ‘I’m sorry.’

Alya would come around. Marinette didn’t doubt it for a second; they were best friends and they always stuck together.

Still. This would change everything, wouldn’t it? She was Ladybug. Which meant that Alya’s hero was really just… Marinette. Nobody special.

‘Alya –’

There was a flash of red next to Marinette’s ear.

‘Gotcha!’ Alya yelled.

Marinette gaped at her. ‘Was that -?’

‘Time to de-evilize!’ Alya was grinning, all her focus on the yoyo in her hands. ‘Bye-bye, little butterfly!’ There was a flutter of wings and a flash of light, and the butterfly was gone.

‘You did it!’ Marinette cried.

‘I did! Miraculous Ladybug!’ Alya flung the yoyo into the air, then ran forward to hug her friend. ‘We did it! Together.’

Marinette hugged her back fiercely. ‘You were amazing.’

‘By the way,’ Alya said. ‘I lied. I wouldn’t have told you if I was Ladybug, not if it killed me.’

Marinette smiled. ‘Well, you didn’t tell me about Rena Rouge, so I believe you!’

‘And I totally would have chosen you to be my sidekick, too, even as clumsy as you are.’

‘I’m not sure I believe _that_ ,’ Marinette said with a giggle.

‘You’re right. I would have picked Chloe!’

They both laughed.

‘I can’t believe my best friend is Ladybug.’

‘Says the girl in the Ladybug suit.’

‘Oops, you’re right. Spots off,’ said Alya. The suit fell away, and Marinette’s best friend was back. Alya hugged her again as soon as the suit was gone.

Marinette resolved to talk to Master Fu about letting Alya keep the fox miraculous.

 

HAWK MOTH

‘Curse you, Ladybug! You may have gotten away this time, but I will find your secret identity, and I will destroy you!’


	5. Chapter 5

MARINETTE

 

Marinette was nervous creeping up to her locker the following morning. She’d spent the first part of yesterday evening assuring Chat that she was okay and trying to remember how to act like a starstruck girl who didn’t know him, which was exhausting. Then she’d spent hours with Alya as her friend put all the pieces together of every time she’d disappeared right after an akuma attack only to show up again safe and sound as soon as it was over. Then, finally, they’d both scoured the internet for every bit of footage and every live-tweet thread of the attack, searching for any information about what Vérité might have revealed, and what other secrets had been spilled. There seemed to be no indication that anyone knew about Marinette’s feelings for Adrien, or that he had been anywhere near her while she was akumatized, so it was probably fine.

Probably. Assuming he hadn’t figured it out. She couldn’t believe she’d been akumatized because of it… how _embarrassing._

If he asked her about it, she was all ready to explain how she hadn’t slept much the night before because of their history assignment and she’d been stressed out about next week’s test and to top it all off she’d messed up an errand she was supposed to run for her parents and that was why she was so upset. She wasn’t sure how to explain away the thing she’d been trying to tell him, though.

She was just glad he hadn’t found out through an akumatized version of her. And after the disastrous events of yesterday, she knew better than to try again. Clearly the universe was telling her it was better that all her secrets stay secrets.

Marinette slammed her locker door only to find Adrien standing behind it, waiting for her. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

‘Adrien! Hi.’

‘Hey, Marinette,’ he said, looking sheepish. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Oh! I’m – I’m fine,’ she squeaked, knowing she was already blushing bright red. Please let him not have figured it out…

‘Okay, well…’ he said, messing up his hair with one hand. Marinette would have appreciated how endearing it was if she wasn’t too busy freaking out. ‘I just wanted to say sorry.’

‘For what?’

‘I should have paid more attention when you were trying to talk to me,’ Adrien said. ‘And I should have realised you were upset.’

‘I wasn’t upset!’ Marinette squeaked, which was obviously a lie, considering there was an akuma involved.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘And I don’t want you to think that I don’t think what you were trying to say was important. It _is_ important.’

Did that mean he knew?

‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ he said. ‘You’re important to me and… I hope we can still be friends.’

Yep. He definitely knew.

Before she had time to come up with an appropriately non-mortifying response, Adrien had turned around and left. Marinette groaned, falling against the locker.

‘Tikki,’ she said. ‘He _knows_ and he thinks I was so upset he didn’t listen to me that I got akumatized and the worst part is it’s _true_ and he’s just trying to be nice but he probably thinks I’m a freak –’

She stopped talking when she saw Juleka and Rose approaching, and Tikki slipped quietly back into her bag.

And besides, she finished in her head, he would never like her the way she liked him.

 

 

CAT NOIR

 

He paced along the rooftop, hands clasped behind his back, waiting for Ladybug. They hadn’t spoken after yesterday, when he saw all the akumatized people turn back into their normal selves simultaneously, and he’d finally managed to track down Marinette at Alya’s house. Ladybug was already gone, which may have been for the best, because he was still kind of mad at her for wanting to use Marinette as bait for Hawk Moth.

‘Hey, kitty.’

He turned around and there she was, walking towards him along the rooftop. Behind her, the houses of Paris were beginning to turn on their lights as the sun set.

‘I’m sorry about yesterday,’ she said. ‘We’re supposed to work as a team but I… had to do what was best.’

He wanted to argue – how was that best for Marinette? – but he knew that she was right.

‘I’m sorry too,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to her before a few times, is all, so I guess I felt more protective of her than normal.’

Ladybug blinked at him. ‘That’s sweet of you. To care about m- her.’

Chat shrugged and walked over to sit on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling over the edge. ‘It all worked out in the end.’

She came over to sit next to him. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t there,’ she said. ‘You did really well. You made sure Hawk Moth wouldn’t find out who you are.’

‘Maybe it would have been easier with you there,’ he said. ‘But I’m glad you were safe.’

She nudged him with her shoulder. ‘Does that mean you forgive me?’

‘Of course, milady.’

She smiled and they lapsed into silence, both staring out at the darkening skyline. Ladybug opened her mouth to say something else, then hesitated.

‘Something on your mind?’ Chat asked.

‘It was really clever, what you did,’ she said. ‘Telling Vérité that you’re, you know, instead of revealing your real secret.’

‘That I’m in love with you?’

‘Yeah. That.’

She was frowning as she said it. He looked away. It was okay; he knew she didn’t feel the same way, and he hoped that maybe someday that would change, but he understood that for now it wasn’t meant to be.

‘I’m sorry,’ Ladybug said. ‘I know what unrequited love is like, you know.’

Chat nodded. Then –

‘Wait. How do you know what I told her? Vérité was the only one who heard.’

Her eyes widened.

‘And you weren’t even there. Where were you, anyway?’

And just like that, everything clicked into place.

 

 

LADYBUG

 

‘It wasn’t you who captured the akuma, was it?’

She gulped. He knew, didn’t he? What excuse could she possibly come up with to explain this away?

‘It was… it was Alya,’ he said, his green eyes trained on her, impossibly huge. ‘Wasn’t it?’

Marinette straightened, turning her body to face him. ‘You can’t tell anyone who I am. Alya is the only one who knows.’

‘Of – of course,’ said Chat. She’d never seen him look so rattled. She could practically see him working it all out in his head, and she could do nothing to stop it.

‘Okay,’ Ladybug said. ‘I trust you. If there’s anyone I trust with my life, it’s you. And Alya.’

‘She’s Rena Rouge, isn’t she?’ he said. ‘Of course you would choose her.’

She bit her lip and nodded. ‘We can’t talk about this ever again.’

‘Marinette –’

‘ _No_ ,’ she said. It felt strange, being called by her real name while she was under the mask. She didn’t quite know how to react. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

‘It’s just that – if you’re Marinette – and you’re Ladybug – then that means…’ His sentence trailed off and his jaw dropped. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ she said. ‘We have to keep going as if this never happened. It was foolish of me to let myself become akumatized. We can’t risk our identities being found out ever again.’

‘Wait, I have to…’ Chat looked at his hand where his ring was, all green paws still intact. He took a breath.

‘No!’ Marinette said, grabbing his hand and letting go just as quickly. ‘I don’t need to know who you are.’

‘But I know who you are. It only seems fair.’

‘It’s better this way,’ she said. ‘At least you’re a little safer.’

‘What if I want to tell you?’

She shook her head. ‘Chat, don’t.’

‘No, wait. You don’t understand.’

She wanted to protest, but he was already speaking – ‘claws in’ – before she could stop him, and there, sitting next to her on the rooftop, was Adrien.

Marinette screamed.

Adrien. Adrien was _here_. Adrien was Chat Noir. It was the only logical explanation, but surely – surely not.

No.

Impossible.

And yet.

Over Adrien’s shoulder – she’d already been staring at him wide-eyed for about twenty seconds and he still looked like Adrien, so she was slowly starting to realise that he definitely was Adrien – was a little black creature, complete with cat ears and big green eyes just like Chat’s.

‘Oh, hello,’ he said. ‘I’m Plagg. You don’t know me, but _I_ never stop hearing about _you_.’

‘Hi,’ she squeaked. _Adrien was Chat Noir_.

He was watching her reaction carefully. She kept looking from him to the kwami, trying to force her brain into accepting that this was actually happening. This was actually real. Adrien was Chat.

Plagg yawned.

‘You seem to like me better in this form,’ Adrien said.

Ladybug finally stopped gaping just long enough to say, ‘and you seem to like me better in _this_ form.’

It was true; he’d fallen in love with her as Ladybug, but not as Marinette. At least, she supposed, this meant that he loved her in some way, but was this even her real self when she was hidden by a costume and a mask?

Sometimes she felt _more_ like herself under the mask. She wondered if Adrien felt like that too.

‘Well,’ Adrien said. ‘I don’t think that’s true.’

Marinette thought about it and remembered how scared he’d been for her yesterday, how he’d fought with Ladybug to protect her.

‘Oh,’ she breathed, and then, ‘spots off.’

She was Marinette again and now Adrien was looking at her with wonder. ‘I’ve always wondered what it looks like when we de-transform,’ he said. ‘Is this your kwami?’

‘Hi!’ Tikki chirped. ‘I’m Tikki!’ She reached out a hand as if to shake Adrien’s, but before she could get near him a little black shape hurtled towards her. The two kwamis crashed into each other in an embrace then started zipping around Marinette and Adrien’s heads, chasing each other in their excitement.

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other and smiled.

The kwamis were talking over each other.

‘When I saw you during the Dark Owl fight –’

‘Ugh, and listening to him swoon over Ladybug –’

‘And she’s always talking about –’

‘But we couldn’t _say anything_ to them –’

‘ _I know._ ’

‘I can’t believe you’re Chat Noir,’ Marinette said.

‘Why, because I’m so much cooler as Chat?’ Adrien said with a teasing smirk.

‘No, because you’re much more ridiculous.’

‘I can completely believe that you’re Ladybug,’ he said.

‘Really? Why?’

‘Because you both care so much about other people, you’re both natural leaders, and you’re both –’ He was blushing – ‘adorable,’ he said.

‘Oh my God, just kiss already,’ said Plagg.

Marinette was blushing too. ‘I guess you know what I was trying to tell you yesterday.’

‘I guess you know I only turned you down because I’m in love with someone else. And I guess that someone was actually you after all.’

‘Ugh, seriously –’ Plagg was hovering over Adrien’s shoulder, rolling his eyes.

‘Hey, butt out, or I won’t give you any cheese for a week.’

‘Plagg, come on,’ said Tikki, dragging him away with a secretive smile to Marinette.

 ‘Sorry about him,’ Adrien said. ‘Um, so…’

‘So I guess you should kiss me now, kitty,’ she said, and oh God, she couldn’t believe she’d just said that, she, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, had just told Adrien to kiss her, and –

Oh. And he’d actually done it.

Marinette closed her eyes and melted into the kiss. His hands were cupping her cheeks just like she’d always imagined, so she ran a hand through his hair, just like she’d always wanted. She’d never imagined that not one, but two kwamis would be hovering over them, making cheeky comments and shushing noises respectively, but she decided that made it all the better. She’d definitely never imagined that Adrien could be Chat Noir, but she decided she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


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